Oh say, can you SEE Green Careers?

An invitation to a graduation ceremony for solar installers came to me in the mail. I noticed Oakland City Council person, Rebecca Kaplan, and Vice Mayor, Ignacio de la Fuente, were announced to be in attendance, so I made sure to be there. I wanted to talk with Oakland officials about creating added incentives for people to go solar. I was there 40 minutes early and kinda scratching my head, so I chatted up everyone I could and just pretty much made myself at home.

In fact, I am here to make rain, so I couldn’t help but engage the young people I was there to celebrate with. Big smiles and an unmistakable sense that something very big was happening filled the room. The people hosting this event were beaming, the graduates were beaming, and I felt an extra spring in my step by the overwhelming sense that tonight was very special.

Here’s the back story, SEE Green Careers is a Pilot Program collaborative initiative designed to train 26 young adults (ages 18 to 23) for certification as Solar Installers, and, subsequently, place the graduates in entry level jobs. The collaborative partners include Spanish Speaking Citizens’ Foundation (SSCF), The English Center, YMCA of the East Bay Urban Services, Rising Sun Energy Center, and SunEnergy, Inc. . These are just the groups that are credited with making this thing come together, there are many PEOPLE inside and outside the collaborative that have made this happen.

Why is this a big deal?

Right? Why is it a big deal? I guess the testimony given at the ceremony spelled it out pretty clearly. Every one of the 26 grads was encouraged to address the audience upon receiving his or her certificate. Some gave a few words of thanks while others laid it out plain and simply. The common refrain “you grow up believing your future is selling drugs, going to prison or dying young”, “somebody believes in me”, “I feel like I have a future”. Those words “believe” and “future” I heard over and over. It affected me.

Afterward, during the mixer, Veronica Sanchez-Casian (Workforce Development Manager/SSCF) solicited all of us contractors to go into the adjacent room and meet these guys and gals, get their resumes and talk about the job market. I took time to listen to each of them. Each candidate had the same question, “can I work for you”? The answer was a pat “let’s put your resume on file and set up an interview”.

Well, maybe Sun’s Free Solar could hire one or two installers from SEE Green Careers (and that’s something), but what if Sun’s Free hired the entire class? How about all 26 young men and women on one roof, getting real work experience and getting a real check?

I realized we could go back through the commercial proposals we submitted in 2008 that were marked “cold” in our lead tracking program, slash the price and call back the property owners with the new pitch. Yes, you’d be helping the environment, sure you’d be able to take advantage of the amazing rebates and tax incentives, BUT, let’s put these young people to work! Let’s get a PR campaign around this event! Let’s make history!

As it happens, there is just such a potential client. And we are preparing a new proposal for her. And, although this woman has a long history of community leadership and consistently invests in Bay Area philanthropy, we know she is no stranger to “Return On Investment”. And that’s really what it’s all about.

It is now our goal to seek out commercial, municipal, and nonprofit organizations and present them the project. AND, we have to do this again and again and again. Our goal is to have projects running in succession. The next graduated class will need to transition on to a “working project” while the former class is putting in (3) eight-hour-a-day work weeks and dedicating the balance of the week to finding fulltime job placement with other local solar contractors.

When I say “we have to do this again and again”, who do I mean by ”we”? Well, I mean Sun’s Free Solar, of course. And I mean the original partners of SEE Green Careers. But this will also require a lot of help from lawmakers, civic leaders, people that have forged the way for green jobs like Green For All, and just about everyone that reads this blog. My friends and family are now enlisted to promote our group and open as many doors as possible.

If you are reading this, this means you. I said earlier, we are making history here and I mean it. Whether Sun’s Free Solar is the first to come up with this angle at Green Jobs or the third or whatever, that’s neither here nor there. Let’s just get this thing moving.

I will be posting our progress regularly so please stay tuned.

All the best,

Kevin Good